Orange County Solar Expert

Month: October 2016

All of us by now know that global warming is a very real facet of our lives. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that the average global temperatures have risen about 0.85 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution. Although it does not sound like a lot, but even the smallest soar in average temperatures across the sphere causes consequential changes to our earth’s climate, such as rising water levels and devastating weather events. Let’s take a look into certain reasons why you should start using solar power now:

Solar Power is free and clean – Solar energy system works by converting sunlight into power. As sunlight is free and solar energy systems work whenever the sun is in the sky even if a layer of cloud cover is present. Solar energy can be used to power all domestic devices, from a widescreen TV to electric toothbrush. It has virtually no impact on climate change unlike other energy sources that often results in unwanted and harmful emissions.

Solar Power is infinitely renewable – As solar power takes energy from the sun, there’s hardly any chance that the sun will cease being a source of energy, for the next one billion years at least. Other typical forms of energy, such as coal, gas and oil, will one day run out and hence known as renewable power sources.

Solar Power saves us and money – The power created by a solar energy system is converted into electricity. This electricity is further used to power devices at homes. As a result one will need to use a lot less energy from the utility companies, especially if one uses less gas-powered appliances within homes – particularly when heating and cooling, as nearly half the energy used in a typical US home is used in this manner – and use electric-powered ones instead.

Tax Credit – In some states one can obtain tax credit for installing a renewable-energy system. One may can claim incentives from the utility company, as some companies buy any energy that one creates but does not use in one’s home.

Worth more homes –The US Department of Housing and Urban Developmentestimates that for every $100 that a house is able to save in annual utility bills, and additional $2.000 is added to the house’s value. Energy efficient homes after using solar power have now become more attractive, and as asperity measures continue, people are seeking energy-efficient homes in a bid to reduce their utility bills and their overall monthly spend.

Cost-effective source of energy – Solar power is a proven cost-effective source of energy, and most of the larger and best performing utility-scale solar farms have achieved grid parity with established fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Solar power depends on a free input in order to produce a supply of electricity, and operates with zero emissions. Despite economic and financial benefits of this power, it still has one key challenge to overcome of being able to provide energy on demand.

Creation of diverse jobs – There are jobs for diverse types of talent in the solar power industry. Most jobs created are in the rooftop array installation. There is quite a fine demand for talent in areas such as sales, marketing, technical consulting, legal services, contract development, finance and manufacturing. The solar power industry is creating jobs 10 times faster than the general US economy, and this rate will only continue to accelerate as the solar power technology achieves rampant adoption. A nonprofit solar advocacy group states that there are now more jobs in solar panel installation than in the extraction of gas and oil or coal mining. Solar power has become an attractive investment when sunlight is available in generous amounts, since one can obtain more energy and savings capacity.

After knowing about what solar panels are and their brief history, it’s time to know about the different types of solar panels now. Today there are a few prominent solar panels in the market. The only difference between them are their pricing, durability, design, and the manufacture. There are several reasons why a consumer might choose one over another. It is best to ask the professionals in this field to explain which type of materials might be the best for the region where a home or business is located.

All the noted solar panels are made from silicon. Silicon is the material that best allows the photovoltaic process to be used to collect the solar energy given off by the sun through its light rays. However, these cells cannot process all of the light components given off by the sun. The infrared light as well as the diffused and UV or the ultraviolet light rays cannot be captured. This avenues that a lot of the sunlight that shines on the cells is not collected and because of which many cells are used in conjunction with one another in order to be able to produce enough energy to supply at a home or a business. Some types of cells are more productive than others, because of having better efficiency rate. In order to compensate for the wasted energy, more advanced cells are now being produced that separate the light wavelengths. This is done in order to strengthen the ability to capture more of the sun’s rays and be more efficacious. Inherently, there are two types of modules that are generated from silicon, and are thin film and crystalline. These are the two categories that are in all the popular solar panels in their consonance to generate solar power as an alternative energy. The crystalline is further divided into two different subsets i.e. mono and poly. The thin film is divided into two different subsets i.e. flexible and rigid.

Since the prevailing solar panels are suffering a reduced production when they heat up, a system must be obtained in place to allow for them to breathe. A qualified and fitting ventilation program is essential to be installed behind these cells so that they do not become hotter and less economical. Conductors are combined at the top of the cells, such as lines of silver or strips of copper. This is done in a flip-flop, waffle arrangement most of the time. This allows for the energy to be easily captured and then transmitted. The more the crystalline modules are long lasting and efficacious, the more they are expensive. The thin film modules are easily affordable. However, the thin film modules do not have the durability that their correspondents offer.

When it comes to selecting the right product, the popular solar panels are what many people are preferring to call from. They offer a proven track record for being sturdy and occupational. It is always a good idea to go with products that have been tested and proven, and these energy cells are no different. The retailer can go into more detail concerning which cell might work best for the situation at hand. As more people strain to save money and conserve energy as well, the demand for these systems continue to rise. This is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

Due to the recent growth in popularity and affordability of solar panels, more people are pursuing for information on solar panels. The interest in information on solar panels ranges from their composition and construction to the way they function. Solar panels comprise a agglomeration of photovoltaic cells. The photons in the sun rays are absorbed by these cells and the displaced electrons are caught in a magnetic field that converts them into direct current energy. The DC energy can then be transformed into the alternating current energy that most the household appliances run on. This is done by the use of a power inverter.

The materials that have been found to be the best at absorbing photons from the sun are cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide, and certain other various types of silicon. Some of the most common silicon based compounds used are monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous. These various substances go into creating the panels. They are capable of the same work but have very trivial differences. Those differences are in the price, in the slight difference in how effective they are, and will also depend on the installation location i.e. a ground setup versus a rooftop system.

Since there are limits on the amount of power a single set of connected cells can convert into usable energy, the most effective use of solar energy is materialized when multiple photovoltaic modules are installed. Since there are limits on the amount of power a single set of connected cells can convert into usable energy, the most effective use of solar energy is materialized when multiple photovoltaic modules are installed. Besides erecting integrated photovoltaics i.e. the small modules that look like regular roofing tiles, and the solar thermal setups for producing hot water in the home, there are three main types of panels available.

The solar panels, the ones classified as the thin film, shows that they are created from amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Whilst, these are at present the least upscale types of modules available, they are less fitting for residential rooftop installations. Thin film modules are most commonly used for ground power systems on large plots of land. Polycrystalline silicon, also known as multicrystalline, ribbon or multi-silicon, are a step up from the thin film. This particular composition allows for the placement on rooftops while evidencing improved ability to secure and convert the photons. These solar panels show that the element that makes them slightly less efficient than monocrystalline silicon modules is the same thing that makes them more cost-effective. The architecture of its design minimizes the gap in efficaciousness of energy production as long as multiple modules are installed. Visually they are easy to recognize. They comprise thin conduit wires arranged in narrow rectangles with the silicon woven through the wires.

The rooftop solar systems are erected of monocrystalline silicon are a few of the most popular ones. Although these are quite valuable, due to high silicon content in them, they are also considered the most effectual. Since monocrystalline silicon is so emphatic at absorbing photons, using a set up with that material requires fewer units for solar power generation. These are easily pinpointed by the square shaped cells set up in a grid across the surface of the modules. Although both the silicon units value more than the thin film, they are a solid and superb investment. Over a period of several years, they will pay for themselves.

The solar panels are soon going to greatly impact a home or any small business’ utility bills. They have a life-span that would go on for many years to come as they are an extremely eco-friendly approach of power fructification.